The Best Things In Life
by aspdstra
Summary: What if Brooke’s parents had let her stay with Peyton after all? With Jake also living there, and Peyton slowly starting to spend more time with Lucas, who knows what could happen…JakeBrooke. First chapter is up! R&R!
1. Living Arrangements

**The Best Things in Life**

**BY:** trory-goddess

**PAIRING:** Jake/Brooke – and Lucas/Peyton, but only for the sake of convenience  
**RATING: **PG-13 to R…depends on my mood  
**SUMMARY:** What if Brooke's parents had let her stay with Peyton after all? With Jake also living there, and Peyton slowly starting to spend more time with Lucas, who knows what could happen…Mainly Brooke focused, though Jake plays a very important part.

**A/N: **So this is my first endeavor into the world of J/B ficage. Not only are there hardly any J/B fics worth speaking of, but I've always been a strict N/B and L/H fan…which I still am to the core, but I'd probably ship Brooke with a tree, so it was only a matter of time before I warmed up to the idea of J/B again.

Getting to the point, not sure how long this sucker's gonna be or how often I'll update…but do us a favor – try to be optimistic anyway. I'll make an effort to do my part and not be a lazy ass.

You know the drill – R&R. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

**CHAPTER I: Living Arrangements  
**

Brooke Davis sat on her bare mattress, glassy-eyed, staring at the disgrace her room had become – well, she couldn't fault it that much. It did match. Blank goes with blank, right? That's what it was, after all. Cleared out, vacant, empty…kind of similar to her black hole of a life, ever since she found out she'd be leaving Tree Hill to live with the parents who probably wouldn't have noticed if she even moved with them or not. What a joy.

Not only would moving just suck at any time of the year, but she'd have to do it before her junior year ended. She'd have start over…all the way…from scratch. No friends.

She was almost resigned to live out the rest of her existence as a fashion-retarded hermit when her cell phone rang – P. Sawyer. Good. She could use a friend who didn't mind a vent or two.

"Hello?"

Peyton snorted at Brooke's drab tone. "Still not feelin' too great huh?"

Brooke rolled her eyes and sniffed. "Your depth of perception astounds me."

"Yes well…it's one of my gifts…no good news from the rentals I take it?"

"Nope…they're determined to make me miserable so y'know…what else is new? I was already miserable before, only difference now is they actually made it a point to take notice and add to the problem."

"I think I've got something you wanna see."

"Is it Paul Walker in a whipped cream bikini?"

Peyton laughed out loud at the notion. "Something, not someone."

"Eh well…my interest stops there."

"Oh give me break. Stop being such a baby and get your ass over here."

Brooke sighed in aggravation. "Alright, y'know what, fine. But this better be good, P. Sawyer. I'm giving up my sulk time for it."

"You'll like it…trust me."

* * *

Peyton opened the front door to her house, nearly bursting out laughing at Brooke's perturbed expression, complete with crossed arms, a quirked eyebrow and a tapping foot. "Okay, you're gonna feel bad for being such a bitch when I show you."

Brooke shrugged a shoulder. "Time will tell…make it quick, Blondie."

Peyton barely had a chance to move out of the way before Brooke came strutting through, heading back to her bedroom. She got there to see Brooke, now sitting impatiently on the edge of her bed.

"I'm waiting."

"You're in the wrong place, dumbass. Come on, it's down the hall…"

Brooke's expression turned curious, and she followed Peyton around the corner and down the hall to a habitually closed door. "Wooow… thanks Peyton, but I've already seen your dad's dusty trophies."

Peyton proceeded to flick Brooke off and opened the door, revealing a fully-furnished and oddly-familiar room. Now Brooke did feel like a heel for jumping the gun and assuming she knew what Peyton wanted to show her. Mouth open and eyes tearing, she slowly entered and took it all in.

"Y…th…w…" All she could do is point at everything and look back at Peyton, who nodded, knowing what she wanted to say.

After catching her breath and letting some tears fall, Brooke found her voice. "This is my stuff."

"Yeah it is…"

"How did it all get here, I mean w…I don't understand…"

"My dad talked with your parents…convinced them it would be a good idea if you stayed in Tree Hill for a while, at least 'til the school year ends and probably through most of the summer. He left out the part about him hardly being home, for obvious reasons, but y'know…so this is your pad now. Get comfy."

Brooke wiped a few escaping tears from her face. "You did all this for me…"

"Brooke…of course I did. You're my best friend. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you. And besides…my reasons were mostly selfish anyway."

Brooke managed a smile. "How do you figure?"

"I'd kinda miss you if you left, y'know…this way we'd be closer than ever."

They shared a laugh, and Brooke pulled her into a hug. "We'll probably be sick of each other in a week."

Peyton nodded. "Probably. But at least we won't have to rough it through Junior Year alone." She drew back so she could look Brooke in the face. "Hos over bros."

Brooke grinned. "Hos over bros."

"There is the whole thing about Jake and Jenny being here though…hope that won't be a problem."

"Are you kidding? I'm great with kids!"

Peyton rubbed Brooke's arm. "No you're not sweetie."

"Well I can be, okay? Practice makes perfect. And stop knowing me so well please."

"What can I say? It's my job."

* * *

Yes, so…I realize there was no J/B in this chapter. I'm sorry. It will be here next chapter...and that chapter will be longer. This is just to get the ball rolling.

Speaking of the ball, I hope you liked it, and please – R&R!


	2. Surprise, Surprise

**The Best Things in Life**

**BY:** trory-goddess

**PAIRING:** Jake/Brooke – and Lucas/Peyton, but only for the sake of convenience  
**RATING: **PG-13  
**SUMMARY:** What if Brooke's parents had let her stay with Peyton after all? With Jake also living there, and Peyton slowly starting to spend more time with Lucas, who knows what could happen…

Mainly Brooke focused, though Jake plays a very important part.

**A/N:** Okay folks, so here's Ch. 2…not as long as I wanted, but I figured it was a good place to stop so things could progress more fully next chapter. Yeah, so let me know what you think of the J/B interaction. I really want to get the two of them right together.

Enjoy, and PLEASE read and review…it really means a lot.

* * *

**CHAPTER II: Surprise, Surprise**

Blinking himself awake from the sun peeking through the blinds, Jake couldn't even remember what time he'd gotten in from Karen's last night. Lucky for him Lucas had been there to help with Jenny or else it would've been a lot later than it was, but even still…lately sleep had become a rather foreign concept for the nearly-eighteen year-old. Oh well…gotta suck it up and face another day.

Whitey had come by Karen's and picked up Jenny, so he would be looking after her while Jake was in class. It felt weird not to have her there when he woke up, but he figured it was just as well. He'd be late for school as it was if he didn't get his ass out of bed and into gear in the very near future.

Stumbling off his mattress and down the hall, the sound of rushing water behind the bathroom door hardly penetrated the fog in his brain, and he walked in as casually as if it was any normal morning at the Sawyer house. What he was presented with on the other side of said door, however, was anything but normal…well, it depends if anyone would consider the sight of a basically-naked Brooke Davis with her leg propped up on the sink normal. He barely had a chance to appreciate what was before his eyes before she noticed his intrusion and shrieked, dropping her razor and clutching her towel in a white-knuckled grip.

"Jake you pervert, what the hell are you doing!"

He reminded himself not to stare and prepped for his response. "W—what the hell am **I** doing! What the hell are you doing, you're not supposed to be here for another week!"

Her expression withered. "Oh and that means what to me now, Einstein…Jesus, you scared me half to death, ever heard of knocking!"

"Why would I knock if I didn't think anyone was even in here in the first place!"

Brooke's eyes squinted spitefully and she tried to think of a clever comeback that would knock him on his ass…no such luck. So she resorted to pointing and forming non-sentences.

He held out his hands, waiting for the retort that never came. "Exactly…so just chill out for a second, I just woke up like two minutes ago."

It took her a moment to realize he had nothing but sweats on and how welcome of an image that was at the present moment. But she wouldn't let on, oh no. Not a chance.

She gave a disgusted sigh and pushed past him, meeting with a half-asleep Peyton a little further down the hall.

"Tell your boyfriend to put a shirt on," she said just loud enough for him to hear and continued walking to her room, half her lower leg still covered in shaving cream.

Peyton stood in front of Jake with a curious yet amused expression on her face. Jake just shook his head and disappeared inside the bathroom. She decided it would probably be a good idea to go make some coffee.

* * *

"Ms. Davis…so nice of you to join us."

Brooke watched as all eyes shot in her direction and she suddenly regretted thinking that a few extra minutes in the bathroom doing her make-up wasn't a big deal. Bullshitting was required stat.

"Sorry Mr. Reynolds. I kinda had a uh…feminine emergency."

A smattering of 'ew's and 'gross's passed around the room and Mr. Reynolds did his best not to blush.

"Just um…" He cleared his throat. "Just try not to make a habit of it, if you don't mind."

Brooke gave him a thumbs-up and a dimpled grin. "Sure thing."

He stood and nodded for a beat. "You may go to your seat."

"Oh right, that," she said with an embarrassed laugh, and she sat down in her usual place for 1st period English Lit behind Jake Jagielski.

He leaned back subtly. "On time as usual."

She made a face and lowered her voice. "Well I might not have been late if **some**one hadn't interrupted me in the bathroom this morning…you might know him. His name's Jake."

Brooke missed his eye roll and rueful smirk and continued their whispering conversation. "So what'd I miss?"

"You actually think I'm going to give you my notes…"

"Of course I do. What reason would you have for not giving them to me?"

"Uh, how about I'm still using them. Y'know, maybe I need them too. Just a thought."

She reached around him and took the aforementioned sheets of paper from his desk, giving him a complimentary kiss on the cheek before he had a chance to argue. "Thanks Jake…you're a doll. And who knows…maybe the next time you see me naked it won't be an accident."

Both of them had a chance to pause and absorb the full weight of that statement. Brooke was the first to crack.

"Oh my God, don't tell Peyton I said that."

Jake chuckled quietly. "Don't worry I won't. She probably wouldn't care anyway…"

Brooke raised an eyebrow. "Meaning?"

Before he could answer, Mr. Reynolds interjected. "If Ms. Davis and Mr. Jagielski are done with social hour, I'd like to continue with my lesson."

They quickly refrained from further dialogue and Brooke flashed him her winning grin. "Sorry Mr. Reynolds. Please, continue, it's fascinating."

She waited until his back was turned before she leaned towards Jake again. "We'll talk about that later, Jagielski."

Jake sighed while chewing on the tip of his pen. His big mouth had gone and gotten him in trouble…again. Great. Just great.

* * *

So big thank you to all the reviewers:

kbear87, cabot007, Sheena, HSW, Julie, and piper-h-99

Means a lot folks, it really does. Remember to R&R for this chapter if you could. Ch. 3 is on the way!


	3. Personal Buddha

**The Best Things in Life**

**BY:** trory-goddess

**PAIRING:** Jake/Brooke – and Lucas/Peyton, but only for the sake of convenience  
**RATING: **PG-13 to R…depends on my mood  
**SUMMARY:** What if Brooke's parents had let her stay with Peyton after all? With Jake also living there, and Peyton slowly starting to spend more time with Lucas, who knows what could happen…Mainly Brooke focused, though Jake plays a very important part.

**A/N: **M'kay…so here is Ch. 3 for y'all. I do plan on making the chapters longer, but right now I'm happy with frequent updates, so I hope you will be too. Thanks for reviewing, and please do the same for this chapter, if you don't mind. I'd love to know what you guys think about the JB interaction, 'cause I want to get that right more than anything else.

* * *

**CHAPTER III: Personal Buddha**

* * *

"Alright…spill."

Jake turned to both the sound of Brooke's voice and her arm weaving through his as he walked across the parking lot for lunch. "Can't I at least eat first?"

She gave a careless shrug. "Maybe, depends if you're paying. Where _are _we going, by the way?"

"Some place loud that prevents talking," he tried to say under his breath with minimal success.

"Ha! I heard that Mister. And not a chance."

He opened his mouth to protest, but any such response was silenced by her finger on his lips. "Don't argue, Jagielski. I'll drive…you need to save up your energy for the explanation I'll be getting in a few minutes."

Jake had no choice but to get in Brooke's VW Bug obediently and use the ride to gather his thoughts for their pending conversation.

* * *

Maybe if he didn't make eye contact she would just find something else to stare at. And yet there she was…staring. Chewing and staring. Chewing on **his** French fries and staring.

He finally glanced up from his sandwich and huffed. "Are you just going to sit there looking at me the whole time?"

"Until you stop dicking around and start talking, yeah, that's pretty much the plan."

"You're eating all my fries."

"You're wasting all my time."

He feigned annoyance. "I'm wasting _your_ time?"

"Oh please," she said, rolling her eyes, "like you actually had plans for lunch. I'm a bit logically challenged sometimes, Jagielski, but I'm not stupid."

Well, that was probably true. All Jake knew was that the more he just sat and said nothing, the more she stared and ate his fries. He just couldn't win.

He cracked. "I don't see what the point of all this is…I mean, it's not like we're best friends or anything, we're hardly friends period. Why do we even have to talk about it?"

Brooke's face froze mid-chew, and she did her best not to look as offended. "Wow…I'm sorry. I just figured that if it was anything unpleasant, you'd need someone to talk to. I know I'd want someone. But you're right…we're not friends. I don't really like you at all, come to think of it." She started to pack up their lunch. "You done? I think we should be getting back to school."

Jake bit down on his tongue hard for being such an ass, and he caught her arm as she got up to leave. "Brooke…"

She shot him a look that told him he'd better say what he had to say or else he'd lose an appendage, so he obeyed. "Sit down."

"_Pfft_…why?"

"Come on…I'm sorry…for what I said, I didn't mean it. I'm just…sit down."

All traces of anger quickly left Brooke's body, and she just wanted give him a big hug. He looked so…tired. She did as he asked and waited for him to continue. After he sat down as well, he did.

"Well, uh…I guess things between me and Peyton…Peyton and I have been different since w –" His ears quickly started to redden, and he hoped he wouldn't have to give further detail.

He didn't have to. Her grin told him she understood. "Yeah, I know. Keep going."

"Yeah…and it wasn't right away or anything. I dunno…it's just been lately, I guess."

"How lately?"

He shrugged. "The past month or so…I wasn't really watching the calendar or keeping a log or anything."

She raised an eyebrow then smirked. "Fair enough, smartass." She thought for a minute then continued. "Y'know, I'd actually been wondering what was going on with you two. You weren't all…clingy and couple-y and…gross all the time."

Jake huffed a modest laugh. "Gee thanks."

"Oh no problem. Okay, so…you guys just don't have sex anymore or…you do and it's not as good or…help me diagnose the issue here."

"Do I really have to be that specific," Jake asked, wincing.

Brooke rolled her eyes dramatically. "Of course you do! I can't just give you bullshit advice on the spot…although I am kinda good at that…irrelevant. Just share what you're comfortable with and I'll _try_ to go from there."

He took a deep breath. "Well…it's kind of a little bit of both."

"Both what?"

"What you just said."

"Which what I just said?"

"Y'know…about the sex thing."

"Oh." Her face took on a more understanding air. "Ooooohh…oh Jake, that's just not good."

"You're telling me…"

"W – h – geez, how did this even happen? You guys are so totally in love."

He shook his head. "I dunno…it's kind of like that feeling you have when you finally get what you've always wanted…but even after that, you're still not satisfied…that sounds really kinda shitty when I say it out loud."

Brooke grinned. "Sounds like pretty much every relationship I've ever had…with the exception of Lucas, but we all know how that one turned out, don't we?"

"Yeah…hey I know it's kinda late, but I'm really sorry about all of that. I wasn't really on the in with that, and then I was gone…obviously, but Peyton told me what happened."

"Thanks. I try to consider it a lot of water under a very shaky but tolerable bridge."

It was his turn to grin. "I guess if she hadn't told me I would've never known…you guys seem as close as ever."

"Well we kinda have to be. We're like living together."

They both shared a chuckle, then Brooke got sober for a moment. "Seriously though Jake…you should talk to Peyton. I mean, I know her. She's really open and up-front about stuff…normally…if you go to her first. Anyway, what you guys have – together – I think it's worth making the effort to save it…for both of you. And for Jenny."

Jake had to hand it to her – Brooke could be very deep and insightful when she wanted to be. And she was right…this wasn't just about him and Peyton. Anything he did or any decision he made involving a woman being in his life would have a direct impact on his relationship with his daughter. She needed some sense of stability in her life, more than anyone.

Brooke's wisdom brought a smile to his face. "I think I'll keep you around. Y'know…like my own little portable Buddha."

Her eyebrow arched. "Only with long brown hair, un-fat and really hot right?"

"So you actually know who Buddha is then? I'm impressed."

Jake had to dodge the French fry that whizzed towards his head, but he saw her expression – it was a good-natured throw.

"Ha ha Mr. Funny Pants…and thank you, I take it as a compliment. I don't mind being a hotter brunette version of a fat bald guy."

"Which you are."

"Which I am. Ready to go?"

Jake sighed and stood reluctantly, collecting their lunch trash. "Am I ready? No. Do we have to leave? Yes."

Brooke stood with him as they headed to the door. "Good point. I think I'll keep you around too, Jagielski."

"You don't have a choice. We live together." She smirked.

* * *

Alright, so big thank you to the reviewers of last chapter:

Sheena, cabot007, Liz, kbear87, Lennie1984

Means the world, it really does. R&R!


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